Deus Ex meets Mass Effect - worthy addition to the ranks of action-RPGs with a Bourne Identity flavor.
As a hardcore fan of Deus Ex series, I feel that Alpha Protocol (AP) is the closest thing to DX series since DX Invisible War, and I love it. You get to visit interesting places, sneak around, break in, pick up loot and when stealth approach fails, fight your way through.
What makes this game experience worth the time are two things:
1- Great balance between smart and stealthy approach and the kill-'em-all. My favorite tactics is quiet take-downs using silenced pistol, melee or sniper rifle - enemy never knows what killed them. Original Splinter Cell did that, but they missed the other half of the equation - when things go wrong in AP you switch to the assault rifle and get out of the mess.
2 - you create your own story. As in Mass Effect or any more RPGish game out there, AP lets you shape your own history and does it really good. The range of your options and their consequences is possibly the best in the genre to date.
Overall:
+ supports rewarding "silent and sneaky" action, not only the usual run and gun mediocrity.
+ Lots of choices to make and consequences to experience.
+ Memorable characters
+ Nice weapon mod, skill and perk system - feels like an improved ME1 system
+ Underrated - beware missing great gaming experience because of poor reviews and insignificant technical flaws!
- Graphics and controls could be better, but they are Good enough to enjoy the game. Try playing Deus Ex 1 if you complain about graphics.
- Some bugs - did see some bugs mostly related to menus.
- Occasionally AP forgets what it is and forces you to run around with assault rifle (usually during boss fights). This pissed me off.
- AI is OK - feels fine but stealth could be made much smarter.
- failed to surpass Deus Ex in important areas :) Ok this is too much to ask, but 10 years after DX1 still holds the ground with better freedom of action, better score and real side-quests.